$11 Million to Fill Gap in Australian Health and Climate Research

The Australian Government is investing almost $11 million to build Australian research capacity in climate change and related health impacts under the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) 2024 Targeted Call for Research (TCR) into climate-related health impacts and effective

The Hon Ged Kearney MP
Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care
Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health

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The Australian Government is investing almost $11 million to build Australian research capacity in climate change and related health impacts under the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) 2024 Targeted Call for Research (TCR) into climate-related health impacts and effective interventions to improve health outcomes.
 
A TCR is a one-time request for grant applications to address a specific health issue where there is significant research knowledge gap or unmet need. TCRs are designed to stimulate research or build research capacity in a specific area of health and medical science to the benefit of Australians.
 
This comes following the release of Australia’s National Health and Climate Strategy at the 28th United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai in 2023. The strategy outlines priorities for the next 5 years to address the health and wellbeing impacts of climate change.
 
Climate change both directly and indirectly affects the health and wellbeing of all Australians, representing a great threat to the resilience and responsiveness of our national health system.
 
Ten research teams will work to improve our understanding of current and future impacts of climate change on the health and wellbeing of Australians and on the demand of our health system. Proposed research projects will identify key areas of vulnerability and effective interventions to improve health outcomes, reduce health inequities and increase our national resilience to climate-related health and economic threats.
 
Projects receiving funding include: 

  • Platform for Research and Interventions in youth Mental health and the Environment (PRIME): PRIME is a project designed to swiftly address the mental health challenges young Australians face due to climate change through an innovative research platform. By accelerating the development and deployment of targeted interventions, PRIME overcomes the lengthy delays typical of traditional methods. This platform operates across diverse settings, from schools to healthcare facilities, aiming to transform mental health care and foster a resilient, empowered younger generation in Australia.
  • REFRESH: Resilience enhancement for workers’ fatigue, recovery & safety in the heat: Fuelled by rising temperatures, job-related heat stress will present a critical threat to the health and safety of the Australian workforce. Current OH&S guidelines do not consider how many days have been worked in the heat, or the age or sex of workers. Together with industry partners, this project will identify logistically viable solutions to reduce heat stress, and improve the health and safety of all workers, across multiple sectors, working multiple days in the heat.
  • The impact of climate on vector-borne zoonoses in Australia: changing transmission pathways and increased spill-over risks: Greg Devine is a public health entomologist working on the development of innovative approaches to the surveillance and control of arboviruses and the mosquitos that transmit them. He leads the Mosquito Control Laboratory at QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane, with a major focus on describing and predicting the transmission pathways of mosquito-borne diseases. These pathways between vertebrate “reservoirs”, mosquitos, and humans, will change the climate. Climate affects mosquito survival, the rate at which viruses replicate, and the distribution, abundance and immune status of the wild vertebrates that maintain viruses in the environment. Greg Devine is leading a multidisciplinary project that will generate the evidence and decision-support tools that will enable public health authorities to map emerging threats and facilitate better targeting of vaccines, mosquito control measures and public health messaging.

 
Further information on all projects receiving funding can be viewed on NHMRC’s outcomes of funding webpage.
 
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care
Ged Kearney MP:
“Our national response to climate change is a critical challenge - so is how we forecast, adjust and mitigate the impacts it has on our health and wellbeing.

“Climate change is significantly altering the Australian way of life, presenting major challenges to our biodiversity, healthcare system, workforce and communities.

“As both a former nurse and union boss, I’m acutely aware and concerned about the health and workforce implications climate change is having.

“This research will support the National Health and Climate Strategy and help identify areas of vulnerabilities and effective interventions to reduce health impacts associated with climate-related events and will alleviate pressure on our health system.”
 
Quotes attributable to NHMRC CEO Professor Steve Wesselingh:
“The innovative research funded today through this TCR will not only deepen our understanding of climate change’s health impacts but will also pave the way for practical solutions to safeguard the wellbeing of Australians.

“The work of these researchers is vital to understanding climate change and they will build the evidence base we need to protect and improve our health outcomes.

“I congratulate the investigators and their teams for their dedication in addressing these critical challenges.”

 

Table 1: TCR into climate-related health impacts and effective interventions to improve health outcomes 2024 funding details
  

Title

Summary

Administering Institution

Chief Investigator

Budget

Statins to Reduce Adverse Cardiovascular Effects from Exposure to Bushfire SmokeThe effects of both acute and long-term exposure to bushfire smoke on subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) will be examined in this study, along with any potential protective benefits of statins. Millions of people exposed to bushfire smoke due to climate change in Australia and elsewhere will benefit from these discoveries. This study's innovative and high-calibre evidence will have a significant impact on public health initiatives and policy decisions aimed at lowering CVD.
 
Baker Heart and Diabetes InstituteDoctor Quan Huynh$999,020.00
The impact of climate on vector-borne zoonoses in Australia: changing transmission pathways and increased spill-over risksClimate will increase the risks of mosquito-borne virus transmission in Australia. It will affect mosquito survival, and the rate at which viruses replicate. It will also affect the distribution of the animals that maintain these viruses in the wild. This project will generate the evidence and decision-support tools that will enable public health authorities to map these emerging threats and facilitate better targeting of vaccines, mosquito control measures and public health messaging.
 
The Council of the Queensland Institute of Medical ResearchAssociate Professor Gregor Devine
 
$997,714.02
Community resilience centres for improving climate adaptation to bushfire smoke and heatwaves in changing urban environmentsMore people will be affected by bushfire smoke and extreme heat in Australia due to climate change. Those with lung or heart disease, the elderly, pregnant women, children, the poor, and those with disability are more vulnerable to heat and smoke. Clean air shelters have been proposed in public buildings but not thoroughly tested for their ability to reduce harmful exposures. This project will test how these shelters can protect Australians in vulnerable situations from extreme heat and smoke.
 
University of CanberraProfessor Sotiris Vardoulakis$999,837.40
Platform for Research and Interventions in youth Mental health and the Environment (PRIME)PRIME is a project designed to swiftly address the mental health challenges young Australians face due to climate change through an innovative research platform. By accelerating the development and deployment of targeted interventions, PRIME overcomes the lengthy delays typical of traditional methods. This platform operates across diverse settings, from schools to healthcare facilities, aiming to transform mental health care and foster a resilient, empowered younger generation in Australia.
 
The University of Melbourne
 
Doctor Caroline Gao
 
$999,890.60
Coming home, making home, valuing home: A health and wellbeing evidence-base for Aboriginal cultural and climate appropriate community-designed homesFor too long, remote Aboriginal communities have lived with poor quality housing not suited to their culture and now worsening climate extremes. This project will measure and evaluate in line with Aboriginal worldviews wellbeing outcomes from the Wilya Janta model of co-designed culturally safe and climate appropriate homes. The evidence will support transferability and scalability to other remote communities to improve housing and health outcomes and build resilience to the changing climate.
 
Sydney UniversityAssociate Professor Veronica Matthews$795,099.00
Climate preparedness in very remote desert communitiesClimatic changes are intrinsically linked to poor health outcomes. Aboriginal communities, living in very remote communities are particularly at risk to climate change due to high burden of diseases. This project aims to generate contextual climate health evidence to inform effective adaptation solutions for very remote desert communities. The project will be co-led by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers, Aboriginal citizen scientists and health service staff based in desert Australia.
 
Menzies School of Health Research
 
Associate Professor Supriya Mathew
 
$999,525.20
REFRESH: Resilience enhancement for workers’ fatigue, recovery & safety in the heatFuelled by rising temperatures, job-related heat stress will present a critical threat to the health and safety of the Australian workforce. Current OH&S guidelines do not consider how many days have been worked in the heat, or the age or sex of workers. Together with industry partners, this project will identify logistically viable solutions to reduce heat stress, and improve the health and safety of all workers, across multiple sectors, working multiple days in the heat.
 
Deakin University
 
Associate Professor Luana Main$995,394.00
OVERNIGHT: A novel approach to improving quality of life for people with asthma during high air pollution events using HEPA filtersOur study investigates the use of HEPA filters to protect people with asthma from exposure to increasing levels of air pollution associated with climate change. Within the existing Tasmania Health Longitudinal Study, we will conduct a 12-month randomised controlled trial on 200 older adults with asthma. We will determine if filters improve quality of life and a range of other respiratory measures. Our findings will provide evidence to inform guidelines and policy.
 
The University of Melbourne
 
Associate Professor Caroline Lodge$965,420.40
Collaborating hand-in-hand with Indigenous communities and policymakers to fortify food security resilience amidst the challenges of climate change in remote AustraliaExtreme climate events have exposed major policy failures needed to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remote communities to build food security resilience with climate change. With communities and policymakers and Indigenous Knowledge at centre, we will determine if and how climate events impact food security and diet, document the lived experience and co-design and predict impact on diet of effective and sustainable policy interventions to fortify food security resilience.Monash University
 
Professor Julie Brimblecombe$999,981.40
Healing People, Country and Climate - Cultural pathways for ChangeCaring for Country programs deliver positive social, economic, cultural, and environmental outcomes. Aboriginal communities have put forward the expansion of Ranger and Complementary Programs to focus on the health and wellbeing impacts of climate change as a culturally appropriate and holistic solution. We will co-design and implement trials of expanded Programs to increase accessibility and participation in caring for Country activities to improve health for all in the face of climate change.University of Western AustraliaAssociate Professor Brad Farrant$999,285.60
                            TOTAL: 
$10,747,437.50

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